Currently in the medical field, both in the emergency department and in the operating room, many medical personnel place themselves in harm's way in transferring a fluid (e.g., medicine) from a non-sterile environment to a sterile environment. Medical personnel conventionally utilize one the following options for transferring fluid.
One process for transferring fluid involves a non-sterile medical individual (e.g., a nurse) holding a medical vial for a sterile medical individual (e.g., a surgical assistant or technician) to attempt to thread a needle into the vial to extract the fluid into a syringe. This process often involves a significant risk of a parental stick. Further, this process increases the time spent away from various tasks, such as aiding in the surgical procedure. Additionally, this process increases the risk of contaminating the sterile environment (e.g., an operating table, sterile personnel, sterile equipment and tools, etc.), and increases the exposure time for the patient, which may increase, for example, the risk of infection.
Another process similarly involves a significant risk of parental stick. The second process involves the non-sterile individual extracting the fluid from the vial into a first syringe. The non-sterile individual then attempts to transfer the fluid from the first syringe into a second syringe held by the sterile individual by threading the needle of the first syringe through a small opening in the second syringe. This process often results in contamination of the sterile individual due to a parental stick. Further, this process increases time away from various tasks to re-sterilize, and increases the exposure time for the patient, which may increase, for example, the risk of infection.
Yet another process involves the non-sterile individual extracting the fluid into a syringe and inserting into a sterile glass from which the fluid may be extracted for use in the sterile environment. This process often results in contamination while transferring the fluid from the syringe to the glass. Further, there is a significant risk of the glass spilling, which may be detrimental to a patient who then has to wait longer for needed medication.
It is with these observations in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.